Barbershops are often the place where men go to unwind and get a fresh cut.
Now, thanks to Live Chair—an app that allows barbers to manage and market their shops, barbers are going to also be able to tell customers more about their blood pressure.
As WBALTV notes, Live Chair trains barbers to use blood pressure monitors. It gives them the tools they need to open a conversation with their customers.
This is especially a huge step for the Black community, where going to the barbershop is a time-honored ritual. Also, hypertension disproportionately impacts Black men.
“Black men comprise 47% of hypertension in this country and are 60% more likely to die of a stroke than their white peers,” Shanile Shakoor, the owner of Nile Style Barbershop in Baltimore, Maryland, told the news station. “So, meeting them where they are here at the barbershop, where they come…is so, so helpful.”